May 15, 2012. Bill Szydlowski
credit: BekathwiaElectronic equipment such as computers, appliances, and many others can be damaged by power surges that affect electrical lines, telephone lines, and cable lines. To keep these electronics protected, a surge protector is needed, which is also called a surge suppressor.
Normally surge protectors come with a power cord and several outlets so that different kinds of devices can be connected to one power outlet.
These days, consumers are dependent on electronic equipment, which pushes power systems over their limit and often leads to inconsistent power. Power systems that are beyond their limit usually causes powerful surges when they transfer from one source to another during brief power outages. These power surges can also be caused by local sources such as a fuse blowing up in your building, or an electrical motor being switched on. On top of these causes, natural occurrences like wind, lightning, cold rain, wildlife, and other natural causes can be a reason for large surges in power lines, which can damage any plugged equipment.
When power surges occur, these can cause lockups of computer systems, video snow, audio static, lost productivity, decline of electronics, and disastrous damage to equipment.
How a surge protector works is by passing electricity from the wall outlet to the different electrical equipment plugged into the surge protector device. In the event of a power surge, this protector will change the course of the additional electricity to the ground via the ground wire of the outlet. So that this process will be done properly, it is necessary that the surge protector is connected to a AC outlet that is wired correctly and is grounded. If the outlet isn’t grounded, then the surge protector won’t be able to protect the devices properly. These surge protectors come with a diagnostic LED that will indicate “Protected” or “Line ok” so that you will be alerted incase of possible problems with grounding.
There are several things to consider when choosing surge protection. Surge protectors come in many styles, various outlets, different lengths, and offer different kinds of protection. What you choose will depend on how many devices and what data lines you need protected, as well as the length required from the AC outlet to the electronic device.
Updated May 15, 2012. Published April 22, 2011. Bill Szydlowski
